The discomfort between Romney and Latino voters

Here’s a fascinating exchange between Bettina Inclán, Republican National Committee Hispanic outreach director, and reporters. The lengthy Q-and-A on The Washington Post’s web site is worth a read.

Though the RNC’s roundtable Tuesday was meant to showcase its get-out-the-vote campaign among Latinos, the press event seemed to backfire as Inclán faced question after question about the presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s position on immigration.

When she said Romney is “still deciding what his position on immigration is,” the Twittersphere reportedly went nuts. Some critics immediately argued that Romney’s position on immigration is quite clear.

The Post report, seemingly the opposite of “Hispandering,” also points to previous GOP candidates and their gains among Latino voters. In 2004, George W. Bush won 44 percent of the vote. In 2008, Sen. John McCain got 31 percent.

How will Romney do in 2012, given the far rights’ stand on immigration and other Latino issues?

The RNC roundtable “raised another question,” the story said: “Whether it’s in the GOP’s strategic interest to aim to increase Hispanic turnout in the first place.”